Guest Editorial: ChalkFest

The Albany Museum of Art is taking it to the streets...

ALBANY, GA (WALB) - Autumn will officially arrive on Saturday from 10 am to 5 pm with a brand new experience for Albany—the Albany Museum of Art ChalkFest.

The museum is taking it to the streets in an annual downtown Albany event with tremendous potential for growth.

Partnering with the City of Albany and Pretoria Fields, AMA ChalkFest is bringing in a dozen professional chalk artists from Georgia and Florida. The 100 block of Pine Avenue - from the Albany Herald building on Washington to the Flint RiverQuarium will become a giant canvas.

Each of the artists will create chalk murals at least 50 square feet in size, each related to our region.

While watching these artists, festival goers 21 and older will be able to sample a number of craft beers brewed in Georgia, including those of Pretoria Fields Brewery, Cherry Street Brewery, Eventide Brewing, Macon Beer Company, Omaha Brewing Company, Orpheus Brewing, Piedmont Brewing Co., and SweetWater Brewing Company – all this while enjoying music provided by the Evergreen Family, the BANDages and Grand Ville.

We are excited to present a Georgia Grown Food Village, food trucks, local artists and other vendors. And you’ll see amateur chalk artists and local students create their chalk art in the street, too. Children under 12 will be admitted free and can take advantage of our children’s area with opportunities to create and play.

General admission is just $5 in advance, $20 for beer tasting tickets, or you can enjoy the exclusive VIP Pretoria Fields Lounge for $65. Admission tickets are on sale at AMAChalkfest.com. They’re also available at the Albany Museum of Art, Pretoria Fields Brewery, and the Albany Convention and Visitors Bureau. Take advantage of the lower advance-sale prices. Tickets sold at the gate will be cash-only.

Find out more by visiting our festival website, AMAChalkFest.com, or call the museum at 229 439 8400. By the way, we can still use more volunteers and we’d love to have you.

We hope AMA ChalkFest will grow into a tremendous regional festival that attracts people from all over Georgia and neighboring states. Come on out this Saturday, have a good time and see the start of something the community will be proud of.